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Residential fires are of great national importance, as they account for the vast majority of civilian casualties. National estimates for 2010-2012 show that 82 percent of all fire deaths and 78 percent of all fire injuries occurred in residential buildings.

Offers tips people can use to cope with sheltering in place. Explains reactions people often feel when sheltering in place; suggests ways to care for oneself and the family, such as making a plan and staying connected; and provides additional helpful resources.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, heating was the leading reported cause of residential building fires. Since then, the overall number of heating fires has substantially decreased, but heating remained the second reported leading cause from 2010-2012 and accounted for 12 percent of all home fires responded to by fire departments.

Report findings

An estimated 45,200 heating fires in residential buildings were reported to fire departments within the United States each year and caused an estimated 155 deaths, 625 injuries and $351 million in property loss.

Residential building heating fires peaked in the early evening hours from 5 to 9 p.m., with the highest peak from 6 to 8 p.m. This four-hour period accounted for 30 percent of all residential building heating fires.

Residential building heating fire incidence peaked in January at 21 percent and declined to the lowest point during the months of June to August. Confined fuel burner/boiler malfunction fires accounted for 56 percent of the heating fires that occurred during these three warmer months.

Confined fires, those fires confined to chimneys, flues or fuel burners, accounted for 84 percent of residential building heating fires.

The heat source was too close to combustibles in 29 percent of the nonconfined residential building heating fires.

Participants:
Undergraduate students from 15 public midwestern universities were surveyed (N = 1,800).

Methods:
Faculty members distributed the questionnaire to students in general education classes or classes broadly representative of undergraduate students.

Results:
Useable questionnaires were returned by 1,649 students (92%). The majority (78%) of students was not supportive of concealed handguns on campuses, and 78% claimed that they would not obtain a permit to carry a handgun on campus, if it were legal. Those who perceived more disadvantages to carrying handguns on campus were females, who did not own firearms, did not have a firearm in the home growing up, and were not concerned with becoming a victim of crime.

Conclusions:
The majority of students was not supportive of concealed handguns on campus and claimed that they would not feel safer if students and faculty carried concealed handguns.

Individuals with permits to carry concealed handguns in public are responsible for at least 722 non-self defense deaths since 2007, a number that likely represents a fraction of the actual total, according to updated data released today by the Violence Policy Center (VPC).

One of the most recent victims was Dr. Michael Davidson, a cardiac surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Concealed handgun permit holder Stephen Pasceri shot and killed Davidson on January 20, 2015, before turning the 40 caliber pistol on himself.

Details on this killing and hundreds of others can be found in the latest update to Concealed Carry Killers, an online resource that provides examples of non-self defense killings by private citizens with permits to carry concealed handguns in public. Overall, Concealed Carry Killers documents 544 incidents since May 2007 in 36 states and the District of Columbia, resulting in the deaths of 722 people.

New standards are needed to plug security and privacy gaps in our cars and trucks, according to a report released today by Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.). The report, called Tracking & Hacking: Security & Privacy Gaps Put American Drivers at Risk and first reported on by CBS News’ 60 Minutes, reveals how sixteen major automobile manufacturers responded to questions from Senator Markey in 2014 about how vehicles may be vulnerable to hackers, and how driver information is collected and protected.

The responses from the automobile manufacturers show a vehicle fleet that has fully adopted wireless technologies like Bluetooth and even wireless Internet access, but has not addressed the real possibilities of hacker infiltration into vehicle systems. The report also details the widespread collection of driver and vehicle information, without privacy protections for how that information is shared and used.
…
Senator Markey posed his questions after studies showed how hackers can get into the controls of some popular vehicles, causing them to suddenly accelerate, turn, kill the brakes, activate the horn, control the headlights, and modify the speedometer and gas gauge readings. Additional concerns came from the rise of navigation and other features that record and send location or driving history information. Senator Markey wanted to know what automobile manufacturers are doing to address these issues and protect drivers.